[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 53 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.Con.Res.53
Agreed to May 4, 2017
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen
Concurrent Resolution
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 244, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives shall make the following corrections:
(1) Amend the long title so as to read: ``Making appropriations
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other
purposes''.
(2) Strike the first section 1 immediately following the
enacting clause and all that follows through ``Sec. 4. Display of
Award''.
(3) In the table of contents for the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2017, strike ``Division N--Honoring Investments
in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act of
2017'' and insert the following:
DIVISION N--INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017
DIVISION O--HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN
MILITARY VETERANS ACT OF 2017
(4) Insert immediately before ``It is unlawful for any employer
to publicly display a HIRE Vets Medallion Award'' the following:
``DIVISION O--HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN
MILITARY VETERANS ACT OF 2017
``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
``This division may be cited as the `Honoring Investments in
Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act of 2017' or the
`HIRE Vets Act'.
``SEC. 2. HIRE VETS MEDALLION AWARD PROGRAM.
``(a) Program Established.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall establish, by
rule, a HIRE Vets Medallion Program to solicit voluntary information
from employers for purposes of recognizing, by means of an award to be
designated a `HIRE Vets Medallion Award', verified efforts by such
employers--
``(1) to recruit, employ, and retain veterans; and
``(2) to provide community and charitable services supporting
the veteran community.
``(b) Application Process.--Beginning in the calendar year
following the calendar year in which the Secretary establishes the
program, the Secretary shall annually--
``(1) solicit and accept voluntary applications from employers
in order to consider whether those employers should receive a HIRE
Vets Medallion Award;
``(2) review applications received in each calendar year; and
``(3) notify such recipients of their awards; and
``(4) at a time to coincide with the annual commemoration of
Veterans Day--
``(A) announce the names of such recipients;
``(B) recognize such recipients through publication in the
Federal Register; and
``(C) issue to each such recipient--
``(i) a HIRE Vets Medallion Award of the level
determined under section 3; and
``(ii) a certificate stating that such employer is
entitled to display such HIRE Vets Medallion Award.
``(c) Timing.--
``(1) Solicitation period.--The Secretary shall solicit
applications not later than January 31st of each calendar year for
the Awards to be awarded in November of that calendar year.
``(2) End of acceptance period.--The Secretary shall stop
accepting applications not earlier than April 30th of each calendar
year for the Awards to be awarded in November of that calendar
year.
``(3) Review period.--The Secretary shall finish reviewing
applications not later than August 31st of each calendar year for
the Awards to be awarded in November of that calendar year.
``(4) Selection of recipients.--The Secretary shall select the
employers to receive HIRE Vets Medallion Awards not later than
September 30th of each calendar year for the Awards to be awarded
in November of that calendar year.
``(5) Notice to recipients.--The Secretary shall notify
employers who will receive HIRE Vets Medallion Awards not later
than October 11th of each calendar year for the Awards to be
awarded in November of that calendar year.
``(d) Limitation.--An employer who receives a HIRE Vets Medallion
Award for one calendar year is not eligible to receive a HIRE Vets
Medallion Award for the subsequent calendar year.
``SEC. 3. SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.
``(a) Application Review Process.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall review all applications
received in a calendar year to determine whether an employer should
receive a HIRE Vets Medallion Award, and, if so, of what level.
``(2) Application contents.--The Secretary shall require that
all applications provide information on the programs and other
efforts of applicant employers during the calendar year prior to
that in which the medallion is to be awarded, including the
categories and activities governing the level of award for which
the applicant is eligible under subsection (b).
``(3) Verification.--The Secretary shall verify all information
provided in the applications, to the extent that such information
is relevant in determining whether or not an employer should
receive a HIRE Vets Medallion Award or in determining the
appropriate level of HIRE Vets Medallion Award for that employer to
receive, including by requiring the chief executive officer or the
chief human relations officer of the employer to attest under
penalty of perjury that the employer has met the criteria described
in subsection (b) for a particular level of Award.
``(b) Awards.--
``(1) Large employers.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 2 levels
of HIRE Vets Medallion Awards to be awarded to employers
employing 500 or more employees, to be designated the `Gold
HIRE Vets Medallion Award' and the `Platinum HIRE Vets
Medallion Award'.
``(B) Gold hire vets medallion award.--No employer shall be
eligible to receive a Gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award in a given
calendar year unless--
``(i) veterans constitute not less than 7 percent of
all employees hired by such employer during the prior
calendar year;
``(ii) such employer has retained not less than 75
percent of the veteran employees hired during the calendar
year preceding the preceding calendar year for a period of
at least 12 months from the date on which the employees
were hired;
``(iii) such employer has established an employee
veteran organization or resource group to assist new
veteran employees with integration, including coaching and
mentoring; and
``(iv) such employer has established programs to
enhance the leadership skills of veteran employees during
their employment.
``(C) Platinum hire vets medallion award.--No employer
shall be eligible to receive a Platinum HIRE Vets Medallion
Award in a given calendar year unless--
``(i) the employer meets all the requirements for
eligibility for a Gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award under
subparagraph (B);
``(ii) veterans constitute not less than 10 percent of
all employees hired by such employer during the prior
calendar year;
``(iii) such employer has retained not less than 85
percent of the veteran employees hired during the calendar
year preceding the preceding calendar year for a period of
at least 12 months from the date on which the employees
were hired;
``(iv) such employer employs dedicated human resources
professionals to support hiring and retention of veteran
employees, including efforts focused on veteran hiring and
training;
``(v) such employer provides each of its employees
serving on active duty in the United States National Guard
or Reserve with compensation sufficient, in combination
with the employee's active duty pay, to achieve a combined
level of income commensurate with the employee's salary
prior to undertaking active duty; and
``(vi) such employer has a tuition assistance program
to support veteran employees' attendance in postsecondary
education during the term of their employment.
``(D) Exemption for smaller employers.--An employer shall
be deemed to meet the requirements of subparagraph (C)(iv) if
such employer--
``(i) employs 5,000 or fewer employees; and
``(ii) employs at least one human resources
professional whose regular work duties include those
described under subparagraph (C)(iv).
``(E) Additional criteria.--The Secretary may provide, by
rule, additional criteria with which to determine
qualifications for receipt of each level of HIRE Vets Medallion
Award.
``(2) Small- and medium-sized employers.--The Secretary shall
establish similar awards in order to recognize achievements in
supporting veterans by--
``(A) employers with 50 or fewer employees; and
``(B) employers with more than 50 but fewer than 500
employees.
``(c) Design by Secretary.--The Secretary shall establish the
shape, form, and design of each HIRE Vets Medallion Award, except that
the Award shall be in the form of a certificate and shall state the
year for which it was awarded.
``SEC. 4. DISPLAY OF AWARD.''.
(5) In section 5(b) of division O, strike ``Act'' and insert
``division''.
(6) In section 6 of division O, strike ``Act'' and insert
``division''.
(7) In section 8 of division O, strike ``Act'' and insert
``division''.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.